UFC superstar Conor McGregor who recently was found guilty of sexual assault in a civil rape case in Dublin, Ireland has been removed from IO Interactive’s Hitman series, alongside a raft of other endorsements and products associated with the fighter, being removed from the shelves.
Once the guilty verdict came in it left an uncomfortable few days for IO who had recently been promoting McGregor’s role as The Disruptor – part of the Hitman World of Assassination game’s current free starter pack due to be on available until mid-December.
In a post on the official Hitman account, an IO statement read, “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all…
— HITMAN (@Hitman) November 25, 2024
McGregor’s image and likeness, as well as his voice, had been used in Hitman 3 earlier in the year, and been sold as DLC featuring a downloadable mission that made the fighter a target for Agent 47.
The DLC, along with the Disruptor mission are no longer available for purchase, although it seems prior purchases will not be removed for players who have spent money on the content.
Back in July, we covered the announcement of the partnership when Hakan Abrak, CEO at IO Interactive said, “We are beyond thrilled to bring Conor to Hitman World of Assassination. Players are really going to enjoy this new mission which blends the best of Hitman World of Assassination with the raw charisma and energy of one of the most successful athletes in the world. I’m excited to see our players diving it this new mission and enjoying what the team has created.”
That quote has not aged well.
The self-styled Notorious has 47 million followers on Instagram alone and has vowed to clear his name on appeal.
He recently starred in the Hollywood remake of 80s blockbuster Road House as an unlikeable Irish thug.